

Class 

Book * 'S' 6 y^-6/73 

Copyright N° 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




/ 


Srntlffr & u k e 


#a 

Elat* 2Uf*a 

*\ 


) 

) 


ft 

i 

> > 


1 


) 


) 

> 


> > 


) 


JOHNSTON COMPANY PUBLISHERS 
416*418 JACKSON STREET 
DALLAS. TEXAS 
1608 


COPYRIGHT. 1909 

By Elsie Rhea Smith 


DEDICATED TO 

GEORGE A. MYERS, NASHVILLE, TENN., 
WITH THE KINDLY REMARK, 

‘A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED 






Brother Luke 


When the pale moon’s radiance was 
falling gently on your bed, when the 
morning star was shining brightly, 
when the dusk of evening was falling 
softly, have you been led by the angel 
within you to the mirror of self-reali- 
zation and thanked God for the glori- 
ous privilege of being a man — a mere 
man? 

When walking along a woodland 
path have you felt your heart beat in 
resonance with the spheres, and sud- 
denly become conscious of a desire to 
kiss the sky and hug the sod ? 

When basking in the light of your 
ideals have you reveled in the thrill 
‘ and flow of nature, the mingling of 
God and man that inevitably widens 
into the eternal, then given rein to the 


9 


BROTHER LUKE 


beautiful human and vowed to achieve 
the noblest destiny possible^ — becom- 
ing one’s self? 

If you have felt thus, ignore the 
petty clutch of conventionality and 
clasp hands with me, stranger though 
I am. Quivering with harmony, we’ll 
listen to the silvery cadence, the di- 
vine melody of the universal orchestra, 
dance to the music of the spheres, 
laugh at time and space that focus into 
a vast immutable now and try to be 
dutiful children of the great “I Am,” 
who bids the animal die upward into 
the angel. 

I’m Brother Luke, if you please. 

“Brother Luke?” you say. 

Such I wish you to call me. Friend, 
my submissive soul bends toward the 
bosom of the Absolute every time I 
hear those words. I liken them unto 
the famous ring that pricked its owner 
when he forgot duty and followed de- 
sire. 


IO 


BROTHER LUKE 


Since friendship is the subtle play 
of one personality through another, as 
sunlight through a prism, I shall draw 
the mystic curtain of individuality that 
you may understand the significance 
of the appellation. In the school of 
life under the formidable task-master, 
Experience, men sometimes untangle 
the net of sin in which they have be- 
come imprisoned, and exult with ec- 
static joy that matter is at last sub- 
ject to spirit. Not so with me. My 
reformation was wrought in the mys- 
terious realm of the great beyond — 
in the land where angels dwell, in 
the region where poor lost souls be- 
moan their fate. 

Be not incredulous ! Think me not 
mad! I know the infinite joy, the 
thrill of triumph that permeates the 
liberated soul as it mounts up, up, up. 
I knozv the soothing calm, the un- 
utterable bliss of being welcomed by 


II 


BROTHER LUKE 


God’s holy band. Horror of horrors ! 
I knoiv the agony of the unright- 
eous that finds vent in one loud, long, 
final scream of despair when cast 
among the spirits of darkness. 

Whence this knowledge? 

Kindred creature, I shall tell you. 
There happened to me an experience 
such as has never befallen mortal man. 
(At least, I know of no similar inci- 
dent.) You would suppose me an 
old man; I am not. It took but a 
few days to change my hair from 
jetty black to white, to weaken my 
limbs and unstring my nerves, so that 
I trembled at the least exertion and 
was frightened at a shadow. 

Human imagination cannot conceive 
the unparalleled magnificence and sub- 
lime terror of the scenes that infused 
a new, strong impetuous vitality into 
my being after chilling me to the mar- 
row. Believe me, human conceptions 
are too frail to picture the sublimity 


12 


BROTHER LUKE 


of heaven; human thoughts are too 
weak to grasp the meaning of the aw- 
ful place called hell. What know you 
of white-robed angels chanting hymns 
of eternal love to God? What know 
you of wild, wailing voices raving in 
the land of eternal darkness? 

Oh, that earthly eyes might see, and 
earthly souls take timely warning! I'd 
re-live my terrible experience a thou- 
sand times over to save errant hu- 
manity from the awful doom that 
awaits ! I see them going down, 
down, down. I tell them. They be- 
lieve not! “Brother Luke is mad! 
Listen not! Heed not! Drive him 
away,” are words I hear every day. 

Friend in all the world there must 
be one who will believe. To you I 
am talking ; to you I shall relate my 
story. 

In the noon of manhood, enjoying 
the spontaneous strength and vigor of 
a healthy animal that loves life for 


13 


BROTHER LUKE 


the mere pleasure of living, I began 
the exploration of a cave to satisfy 
myself concerning a spacious room it 
was said to contain. 

If deep and dewy lustre of eyes, 
fringed with dark, silky lashes, deli- 
cate coloring of cheeks and lips, soft, 
rounded chin, with pretty dimples, 
pure lines of slim throat and snowy 
neck have held you captive, you un- 
derstand why I began my search into 
the bowels of the earth. With an en- 
thralling smile, but petulant pucker of 
dainty lips, my guest-to-be had said in 
slow, languid tones : “I’ll visit Raven- 
worth if you promise something thrill- 
ing ; something sensational. I’m bored 
to death with monotony.” 

I promised, and was planning a 
midnight fete among the ghostly sta- 
lagmites and stalactites of nature’s 
cavern when the accident occurred. 
(Not an accident, either; for in the 


14 


BROTHER LUKE 


gigantic drama of life every so-called 
“accident” has its niche.) 

A violent storm arose during my 
third visit to the gloomy yet fascinat- 
ing subterranean cavity where the 
queen of my heart was to reign queen 
of the festival. I took refuge near 
the mouth of the cave and watched 
the wild havoc of the elements with 
the grim satisfaction of a sheltered 
beast. A lurid blaze of lightning shat- 
tered a tree. A mighty roar of thun- 
der deafened my ears. The sky be- 
came a flaming sheet of fire. Timbers 
crashed. The earth trembled. Seized 
with a convulsion of terror, I fell on 
my knees, imploring God to save me. 
Frozen with fear, I saw an avalanche 
of stone and dirt descending with a 
monstrous velocity. A terrific gush 
of waters, lashing with ungovernable 
fury, burst into a thousand conflicting 
channels ; heaving, boiling, hissing, the 
frenzied current swept me into a pit 


15 


BROTHER LUKE 


formed by the slipping of softened 
strata. 

After an unknown period of utter 
insensibility there came to my brain a 
dim idea of motion and sound — the 
tumultuous motion of my heart, the 
quavering sound of its beating, a pause 
in which all was blank. Then sound 
and motion and touch; a tingling sen- 
sation pervaded my frame. The mere 
consciousness of existence without 
thought ensued — a condition that last- 
ed long. Then, very suddenly, thought 
and shrinking terror, and earnest en- 
deavor to comprehend my true state, 
succeeded by a strong desire to lapse 
into insensibility. Finally a rushing 
revival of energy and a successful ef- 
fort to move. I reached out my hand ; 
it fell upon damp soil. I suffered it 
to remain there many minutes. I tried 
to exercise my reason. I dared not 
employ my vision, not that I feared 
to look upon things horrible; I grew 

1 6 


BROTHER LUKE 


aghast lest there be nothing to see. 
At last, with wild desperation, I un- 
closed my eyes. My worst fears were 
confirmed. The blackness of eternal 
night encompassed me. I started to 
my feet, trembling in every fiber. I 
flung my arms wildly above and 
around me in every direction. I felt 
nothing. Cold beads of perspiration 
stood upon my brow. The agony of 
suspense grew intolerable. I moved 
forward cautiously, with my arms ex- 
tended, and my eyes straining from 
their sockets in hope of catching a 
faint ray of light. Thus groping my 
way blindly, through blackness and va- 
cancy, I sought to learn the extent of 
the enclosure. I proceeded a few 
paces before my outstretched hands en- 
countered what seemed to be a slimy 
wall. The ground was slippery, and 
I was weak ; I stumbled and fell. Un- 
daunted, I crept slowly on until my 
forehead seemed bathed in clammy va- 


17 


BROTHER LUKE 


por, and a peculiar odor of decaying 
fungus arose to my nostrils. I had 
located myself. I stood at the brink 
of the Wizard’s Well. An interven- 
ing wall of many feet had been 
crushed. I grew sick and numb, and 
thought of flinging myself into the 
yawning abyss. The instinctive recoil 
of flesh and blood at the near approach 
of death restrained me. I retraced my 
steps and surged violently against the 
impeding mass of debris that denied 
me light and life. I called loudly for 
help. Only the echoes of my own 
voice came back to me. Maddened 
by the sound, I clung to the cold 
stones, whining like a beaten cur, un- 
til, overcome by excessive fatigue, I 
succumbed to the irresistible drowsi- 
ness of a delirious sleep. 

When I awoke a burning thirst con- 
sumed and a gnawing hunger tortured 
me. I seized a pointed stone and 
worked for hours, hoping, longing, 

18 


BROTHER LUKE. 


dreaming that every stroke would re- 
veal a glimmer of light. Weakened 
by lack of food and exertion, unable 
to raise my arm longer, I sank hope- 
lessly to the ground and viewed my 
fate. Oh, God, what a fate! the liv- 
ing tenant of a grave, doomed to 
languish for hours, days or weeks 
with the grim monster Death bending 
over me patiently waiting for my pain- 
stricken body to consume every ves- 
tige of its energy and substance. 

I cursed the woman whose whim 
had caused my misery. I cursed her 
over and over. I screamed, “Vain 
woman, see what thy vanity has cost !” 
I prayed that an icy chill might for- 
ever run through her frame, and a 
sense of insufferable anxiety always 
oppress her. I screamed louder and 
louder. Moments of insanity must 
have possessed me. I believed that 
she would hear ! As if in answer to 
the illusion, a beautiful apparition 


19 


BROTHER LUKE 


floated before me. Isabel stood by my 
side — radiant, smiling Isabel. With a 
burning glance she gazed into my 
eyes, took my hands, pressed trem- 
bling lips to my cheeks and whispered : 
“To you I shall reveal myself.” Her 
smile and manner changed. Sudden- 
ly she became transformed into a 
wretch horrible to see. Lifeless, lus- 
terless, melancholy eyes stared past 
me; thin, writhing lips twitched; dis- 
torted features quivered ; palsied hands 
shook. A shrill voice shrieked : “What 
greater doom would you ask? Little 
by little I’ve frittered my soul away. 
The spirit has gone out of my body 
and left it to flourish in a sort of vege- 
table existence!” 

I shuddered. 

The ghastly phantom disappeared. 
Beautiful Isabel once more was by 
my side, smiling innocently, adorably. 

I shrank from her. 


20 


BROTHER LUKE 


She clung to me; wound her arms 
around my neck, drooped her head on 
my shoulder, looked into my eyes wist- 
fully, showered throbbing, burning, 
quivering kisses on my lips, until om- 
inous, pulsating silence grew between 
us. Her arms slowly relaxed and fell 
limply. Stillness, intense, absolute, 
became a tension. A growing, resist- 
less force pressing us apart, steadily, 
inexorably, driving me back, step by 
step, against the clammy wall. 

I hissed: “Begone!” 

She waved a mute farewell, and 
left me to bewildered thought. 

I strove to call her back. The 
straining cry died in my throat. My 
lips stiffened with horror. Some- 
where in the darkness she was making 
mockery. 

The taunting, scornful laughter left 
ringing in my ears, became a low mur- 
mur, like the gurgle of rippling water. 
Lured by the sound, despite pangs 


21 


BROTHER LUKE 


and aches, I dragged myself to the 
loathsome pit, kindly christened a 
well, and made my way around it 
many times, hoping that I would find 
a rivulet trickling down. Disappoint- 
ed, I took frantic pleasure in dislodg- 
ing a stone and letting it fall. For 
many seconds I hearkened to its re- 
verberations as it dashed against the 
sides of the chasm. At length there 
was a sullen plunge, succeeded by loud 
echoes. 

The blood rushed in torrents to my 
heart. I saw my mangled corpse at 
the bottom of the stagnant pool. 

Shaking in limb, I groped my way 
back to the wall, resolving to perish 
with the direst agonies of starvation 
rather than risk the awful mutilation 
my imagination had pictured. 

Overwhelmed by gloomy forebod- 
ings, I burst into tears and wept bit- 
terly, then threw myself on my knees 
to God, and implored His aid toward 


22 


BROTHER LUKE 


accomplishing my deliverance. Aris- 
ing with new vigor and hope, I yelled 
loud and long. No answering mes- 
sage being heard, I summoned all my 
strength, and began digging with al- 
most superhuman effort; I knew that 
I was fighting my last battle for Life, 
and was desperate. Gasping for 
breath, my heart almost bursting from 
my bosom, the most appalling of 
deaths confronting me, I felt every 
particle of the energy which had 
buoyed me up depart, and fell sense- 
less. 

After I recovered from the swoon, 
agitation kept me awake many weary 
hours ere sheer exhaustion induced 
a deep death-like sleep that lasted I 
know not how long. Of only one fact 
am I sentient: during that awful un- 
known period I made a prolonged fee- 
ble effort to free myself from vast, 
sable, overshadowing wings cruelly 
pushing me into a hideous vault. 


23 


BROTHER LUKE 


When I gained possession of my 
faculties the phantasma that tortured 
me so potently during sleep assumed 
vivid distinctness. The unendurable 
oppression of my lungs, the scarcely 
perceptible pulsation of my heart, the 
rigid torpor of my muscles, had but 
one meaning — Death. 

This awful conclusion forced itself 
into the innermost chamber of my con- 
sciousness, and despair, such as no 
other species of wretchedness begets, 
seized me. 

Buried alive, occupying the same 
position I would occupy when the 
grewsome conqueror worm would de- 
vour my body, I struggled to a sitting 
posture, and there, in the intense ray- 
lessness of subterranean night, looked 
backward along the short vista of my 
life and forward to the God of all eter- 
nity. A long, wild, continuous wail of 
agony, the cry of a troubled soul, 
burst from my parched lips and re- 


24 


BROTHER LUKE 


sounded throughout the realms of 
darkness. 

Oh, the anguish of that moment! 

I stared bewilderedly at my irrevo- 
cable past as a helpless child stares at 
a monster preparing to strike. 

Trembling, quailing, I heard a mul- 
titude of voices, vibrant with magical 
melody, varying in cadence from syl- 
lable to syllable, blend into unity, low, 
thrilling, intense. 

Suddenly a strangely luminous 
cloud, pinioned on silvery wings, 
poised in mid-air. The shrouding veil 
of darkness became fragments ot 
smoke and fire, embellished with queer 
figures, studded with scintillating 
gems sparkling like the spray from 
many fountains. 

Slowly garlands of flowers formed 
a beautiful throne at the apex of the 
ethereal brilliancy, and mute, sorrow- 
ful eyes, thus enshrined, withered my 
soul with gentle reproach. 

25 


BROTHER LUKE 


The wings began to droop. The 
eyes grew sadder and sadder. Strange, 
oh, strangest mystery of all! In qui- 
etly, unuttered words those twin orbs 
sounded my funereal dirge. 

A hooded figure, robed in sable 
draperies blacker than the blackest 
night, touched me with invisible hands. 
I clinched the bony fingers and tried 
to fling them off. They gripped tight- 
er and tighter. (Their wiry clutch 
makes me shudder yet.) 

“For God's sake,” I began wildly. 

A muffled voice whispered. 

My blood froze with unnamable, 
sickening terror. My memory flew 
back (oh, with what intensity of re- 
gret!) to things long forgotten. 

The voice again whispered. 

I breathed no longer. My pulses 
were still. My heart ceased beating. 
But volition had not departed. Drawn 
resistlessly by repugnant magnetism, 
I dragged my benumbed limbs, heavy 

26 


BROTHER LUKE 


with congealed blood, reluctantly after 
my pilot. 

We traversed many strange spaces 
thus. A dead weight, a heaviness for 
which there is no name upon earth, 
depressed me. 

The spectral monster and I entered 
a gloomy room festooned with lus- 
trous tapestry shimmering with blue- 
gray lights, wandering chill like the 
rays of a wintry moon. 

From that sombre fabric, “softly, 
silky as a golden lion’s hide,” pallid 
faces peered with pupilless eyes, and 
withered hands beckoned me to them. 

The great folds of mystical, shroud- 
ing drapery stirred gently. A tense 
rustle, as of deep sighs and death- 
groans, shuddered upon the silence. 

Gaunt, fantastic dancers, from which 
the very devils might turn away 
aghast, embraced loathsome comrades, 
each more hideous than the other, and 
swayed in rhythmic step to weird, in- 

27 


BROTHER LUKE 


sidious music that ever and anon 
burst into wild, piercing sobs — horri- 
ble strains of pleading agony. 

Gradually the music ceased; slowly 
it died, like breaking waves. Mourn- 
ful echoes, rolling afar off, became 
weak and undistinguishable. 

The fiendish revelers uttered three 
piercing screams and retreated into 
sepulchral darkness. 

Seven skeletons, whose dry, rat- 
tling bones gleamed through rent man- 
tles, proceeded with slow, stately step 
to an ebony table. A vague, formless 
Shadow, neither of man, nor of God, 
or any familiar thing, crept from the 
quivering draperies of the room and 
joined them. They — the skeletons and 
the Shadow — seated themselves. 

Pale, motionless flames, from tall, 
slender torches, illumined the melan- 
choly festive board. 

Groaning miserably, the Shadow 
poured purple wine, or blood, from a 

28 


BROTHER LUKE 


massive urn and served the mystic fra- 
ternity. 

By one accord, that skeleton crew 
of vacant eye-caverns and grinning 
jaws, rose and drank to my health. 

Spectral arms bare of bones, liga- 
ments, tissues, yet very strong, encir- 
cled me. I lay upon the breast of the 
Shadow. Although all semblance of 
life had deserted me, my muscles quiv- 
ered, my arteries throbbed, and I 
heard a soothing voice, mellowed by 
distance, say: “Lingering spirit, quit 
thy fragile tenement of clay.” 

The oppressive darkness became un- 
endurable. I cried out in pain — the 
pain of that crucial moment, between 
life and death, in which the soul has 
lost sight of what was and knows not 
what is to be. 

Some mighty force seemed to tear 
my being asunder, yet the sensation 
was pleasurable. A prophecy, as of 
bliss, thrilled me. My newly-fledged 


29 


BROTHER LUKE 


spirit, trembling with joy, felt that it 
had passed through death unto life. 

A golden-roseate light descended 
slowly. Sweet, strange voices called. 
A form clad in a robe intensely white 
spread vari-tinted wings, beautiful as 
a glittering dream of fairyland, and 
majestically bore me onward and up- 
ward to the City Eternal. 

The guiding spirit rapped a pearly 
gate with a jeweled wand, and disap- 
peared in a cloud of glorious light. 

The massive portal swung open. A 
host of angels chanted: “Welcome to 
the holy temple of thy Heavenly Fa- 
ther.” 

The words became sad and tremu- 
lous ere they had finished. A cloud, 
a shadow as of sorrow, settled over 
that white-robed throng. 

They seemed to shrink from my 
new, my redeemed self, with dread. 

I was filled with dismay. 


30 


BROTHER LUKE 


One from their midst, taller and 
handsomer than the rest, with a crown 
upon his head, a star upon his fore- 
head, stretched out his hand kindly 
and led my shrinking soul to the 
throne of the Living God. 

Dazzled, I, almost unconsciously, 
bowed before the excessive majesty of 
a great light surpassing in brilliancy 
the glistening raiment of angels or 
aught I had ever seen. 

Celestial spirits and beautiful ser- 
aphs bowed, too. 

Through the innumerable eons of 
time I shall not forget the awful sol- 
emnity of those moments in which the 
sacred silence of holy creatures wor- 
shiping a holy God, reigned supreme. 

A low, clear voice, a thousand times 
sweeter than the musical nightingale’s, 
began to sing: “Great and marvelous 
are thy works, Lord God Almighty; 
just and true are thy ways, thou King 
of Saints!” 


31 


BROTHER LUKE 


A vast multitude joined in soft re- 
frain. 

The angels, the seraphs and my 
wondering soul raised from our stoop- 
ing posture. 

An interval of joyous mirth, divine 
and orderly, yet exuberant, ensued. 
Then all eyes were centered on me as 
so many bits of steel would be drawn 
to a powerful magnet. 

The rejoicing ceased. Their coun- 
tenances grew grave. All save one, 
whose livery denoted highest rank or 
order, folded their wings and walked 
away. 

Left thus in the presence of the 
most high God (screened by a mist 
before my eyes), I screamed in terror. 

The angel silenced me by an imperi- 
ous gesture, advanced to a golden ped- 
estal like unto clear glass, opened the 
Book of Life lying thereon, read the 
record of my earthly career, then 


32 


BROTHER LUKE 


turned to me and said: “You called 
yourself a Christian?” 

I cowered with shame. 

He spoke again: “Omnipotent God 
of Hosts, the Angel of Death has de- 
livered into my care a luke-warm soul 
who confessed Lord Jesus before men, 
but followed Him not.” 

I heard words that I did not un- 
derstand. 

The penetrating halo round the 
great white throne trembled and be- 
came pale. 

A messenger of holy wrath, at the 
hideous sin of creature to Creator, 
looked at me with flashing eyes that 
bespoke unutterable loathing. 

Paralyzed, I returned the gaze fix- 
edly until his glance became less cruel, 
and half-tender smiles softened his 
lips. 

Presently that divinely beautiful be- 
ing caught my hands, held them in 
his own, murmuring in tremulous 


33 


BROTHER LUKE 


tones: “Most miserable of wretches, 
I would thou wert cold or hot! Thy 
misguided spirit, smeared with grave 
spots, is too tender to grow callous, 
though leashed by the endless sor- 
rows of hell ; but thou art unfit for 
heaven.” With this he uttered a clar- 
ion-like call and flung me from him. 

Filled with regret that burned fierc- 
er than fire, I saw my previous escort 
appear. He led me to the gate whence 
I had entered. 

That perfect pearl, opalescent with 
heavenly lights, swung backward. 

Mad with fear, I tore my hair wild- 
ly, and flung myself at the feet of him 
who was starting me to hell. 

Spiritual arms raised me; spiritual 
lips pressed my own ; soft sighs mod- 
eled themselves into a sweet, tranquil 
voice, saying: “God-forsaken, I pity 
you. But the choice was yours. De- 
part into everlasting fire prepared for 
the devil and his angels.” 


34 


BROTHER LUKE 


Spirits with “eyes more lustrous 
than the morning and forms transpar- 
ent as flames” waved a sad farewell. 

My soul sickened and became giddy 
with the giddiness of one who gazes 
downward into a dreary, unfathomable 
abyss. 

I fell many leagues, struggling 
fiercely. By a mighty effort, I kept 
my eyes upturned, and watched the 
glorious sphere of beauty and light 
fade into a dimly radiant dot. 

A scorching surface arrested my de- 
scent. A loud blast, as of many trum- 
pets, fell upon my ears. A harsh grat- 
ing shivered through me. A heavy 
door rushed back. An outstretched 
arm grabbed me. A medley of un- 
tamed voices, a wild pandemonium of 
noises, greeted me. I had entered 
hell! 

Innumerable demons croaked: “HI 
VILLAIN, HOW CAME YOU 
HERE?” 


35 


BROTHER LUKE 


Shrieking fiends, sometimes one up- 
permost, sometimes another, dragged 
me over jagged stones that bit like the 
sear of white-hot metal. 

By intermittent flashes and gleams, 
shattering the shadows and rending 
the midnight darkness, I made out the 
writhing and tossing of myriad arms 
and legs floundering hopelessly in an 
immense caldron of hissing, splutter- 
ing, molten stuff. 

I knew my destination, and fought 
these red-eyed devils with the strength 
of forty tigers. 

Step by step they gained. 

Hot winds wafted stifled moans and 
a crisp crackling as of burning flesh. 
Hot drops fell thick and fast like fiery 
rain. 

Still we neared that awful abyss. 

Overpowered, I was being lifted for 
the plunge, when a headless giant, 
emitting vast lurid flames from a rag- 
ged stump of a neck, left the poor 

36 


BROTHER LUKE 


wretches trying to climb perpendicu- 
lar sides and rushed at us, waving a 
huge fork of flaming prongs coiling 
in serpentine fashion. 

My tormentors fled. Terrified be- 
youd thought, I tried to follow, but 
strayed from their path. 

My heedless steps brought me face 
to face with a very old man, mutter- 
ing in hellish vernacular, which I un- 
derstood : “Pm — the — most — miserable 
rubbish — cast — into — this — gulf — of 
oblivion. No — one — here — would — ex- 
change — his — heart — for — mine.” 
Catching sight of me, he added: “You 
— can — merge — your — individuality — 
in — the — mass ; — but — I — am — alone 
— forever !” He then broke into a fit 
of boisterous laughter, drew a halter 
round his neck, and vanished. 

I stumbled along a dark path, and 
encountered one who commanded : 
“Halt! Halt! The Black Pool’s 
ahead !” 


37 


BROTHER LUKE 


“The Black Pool?” I asked. 

“The Black Pool ” he replied. 

“What’s that,” said I. 

“Ah!” he cried, with blending sur- 
prise and amused interest. 

Swaying so near his breath was on 
my cheek, he hissed: “Novice of nov- 
ices, fellow-fiend just arrived, I’ll show 
you around !” 

Steady-glowing eyes searched mine ; 
forked flames rushed from widespread 
mouth and nostrils; strong, sinewy 
hands, so large they might have been 
the paws of some prehistoric monster, 
knotted round me. 

“For God’s sake!” I pleaded in 
childish pathos. 

“Crafty soul !” he yelled, and 
strengthened his clutch. 

Powerless as a new-born babe, I 
was dragged over parched plains 
strewn with live embers of recent 
fires. 


38 


BROTHER LUKE 


We passed many bedraggled wan- 
derers, clad in garments of woe, who 
shrank from us as pallid ghosts; only 
once did we pause — there came from a 
dank pit a long, sobbing cry — half 
wail, half shriek — the anguished cry of 
a woman-soul. So sudden and start- 
ling was the sound that my master- 
demon trembled violently, and stopped 
to listen. It came again, more sorrow- 
laden, more piercing than before. 

With a quiver of excitement he 
lurched forward. 

A phosphoric glow appeared in the 
distance. My captor uttered a raven- 
like croak and tossed me in the air. 

I fell limp and lifeless, but con- 
scious. 

Unable to move, I watched the scar- 
let wall creep nearer. 

Pungent clouds of smoke rose in 
angry billows. Fierce gusts of heat 
whirled past. Stinging sparks fell in 
red hail. Countless serpents dragged 


39 


BROTHER LUKE 


their slimy bodies near me ; one licked 
my cheek with its forked tongue. All 
space was rent with a volume of sound 
as though the heart of Hell had burst 
asunder. Bellowing with rage, mighty 
flames and melted ore gushed from a 
gaping orifice. 

A seething mass of bodies, fiercely 
beating the leaping flames were borne 
on the molten current that swept over 
me. 

Flesh and blood could not have en- 
dured the awful heat and pressure of 
that roaring inferno ; but I lived on. 

Parched, scorched, blistered, shot 
through with the agony of ten thou- 
sand stings, I lay rigid and heavy as 
burning stone, while the shipwrecked 
of a lost world were tossed hither and 
thither by the raging elements above. 
How I longed to be with them! 
how I strove to rise to the flame- 
flecked surface ! But no ; weighed 
down by a billion fiery tons, I could 


40 


BROTHER LUKE 


not even strike the friendly flames that 
circled my throat and shriveled my 
lungs. 

The mad flow gradually became nor- 
mal, and formed a burnished lake at 
the foot of a gentle incline, where it 
glowed like a vast charcoal bathed 
with arterial blood. 

My suffering increased a hundred- 
fold. The scattered embers on my 
bosom stirred restlessly, and leaped 
with snake-like virulence, to the cavi- 
ty surrounding my shrunken heart. 
Immediately a brood of adders thrust 
their venomous tongues into my vitals. 

I shrieked so loud that all Hell 
trembled. Mad flames leaping from 
my mouth circled higher and higher, 
until they licked the horrid roof of 
that cursed pit and fell in a shower 
of fiery darts. 

Pierced with the barbed weapons 
begotten of my own misery, possessed 
by the strength of many demons, I 


41 


BROTHER LUKE 


sprang from my loathed couch and 
ran with the blind fury of a flying 
fiend. 

The dark pavilion of hellish space 
shook with my mighty tread. Un- 
daunted by the constant swaying, I 
bounded in reckless glee, on the quiv- 
ering surface, and terrified, shrinking 
spirits who begged me cease lest 
dreaded fire rush forth. 

My caprice was of short duration. 
A scorpion whip lashed my back. An 
execreable shape, more horrible than 
aught I had ever seen, arrested me 
with much ceremony, and led me, a 
dejected prisoner, into the presence of 
the queerest tribunal I ever confront- 
ed. 

Creatures strange and wild nodded 
effusively. 

A grisly terror, majestic through 
awfulness, mounted a revolving ros- 
trum, centrally located, and called in 


42 


BROTHER LUKE 


harsh, strident tones : “Princes of 
Hell, come to order !” 

A flaunting crimson banner was un- 
furled with obeisance, and greeted 
with three cheers for his Satanic Maj- 
esty. Then the loathsome deformities 
proceeded, with stately decorum, to al- 
coves formed at regular intervals in 
the circular wall of Hell’s court-room, 
where grim justice is meted to way- 
ward souls, and bowed low to the 
terrible Thing addressing them. 

They remained in mock-reverential 
attitude until the clear ring of a gavel 
broke the shivering silence. 

The ungodly shape, or presiding of- 
ficer, fastened narrowing eyes on me 
and smiled scornfully. That must have 
been the signal to begin, for numerous 
voices chanted in mocking monotone: 
“Choose the one thou lovest best.” 

I looked from the regal-robed enor- 
mity to the fawning characteristics 
doing his bidding. (Characteristics, 


43 


BROTHER LUKE 


I say, because each seemed to be one 
of his distinguishing traits objectified 
into space and crystallized into the ex- 
act form of the parent wickedness 
lurking in the atrocious sire.) 

Simultaneously those sin-born mon- 
sters stamped with the die of the evil 
that gave them birth beckoned to me, 
saying: “Come to thy affinity.” 

Dazed beyond comprehension, I 
gazed from progeny to progenitor. 

They called again. 

I remained motionless. 

“Fool !” hissed a snake-like voice. 

“Fool !” echoed many others. 

“Let thy life suggest the symbol,” 
advised one. 

“Look into your breast,” command- 
ed the master of ceremonies. 

I tried to obey, but fell ere I had 
penetrated the dermis. (Out of be- 
wildered chaos came a sense of re- 
pellant degradation. I saw the like- 


44 


BROTHER LUKE 


ness of two imps snugly nestled in 
my bosom.) 

“Contempt of court!” “Read Ar- 
ticle one-hundred-thirty-seven of our 
Code,” stirred my benumbed faculties. 

A clear, modulated voice read : “All 
inmates of Hell are entitled to legal 
defense by the commander of their 
rank and order.” 

Unable to select my intercessor, 
since I had brooded dual fiends, yet 
loath to reveal the fact, I shuddered 
with shame, and swore between grit- 
ted teeth that I would not receive aid. 

The clumsy bulk and listless shad- 
ow, of which I harbored diminutive 
duplicates, smiled with parental in- 
dulgence, as though they deemed my 
act the whim of a petted child. 

Exasperated beyond endurance, I 
shrieked that I would let no hell- 
hound plead for me. 

45 


BROTHER LUKE 


Brilliant showers of sparks and jets 
of flame threw an infernal light over 
the grinning spectators. 

Whirl ! whirl ! whirl ! went the ros- 
trum, gradually reddening into a coal 
which emitted a strong scent of brim- 
stone. 

As if by magic, the atmosphere 
cleared, and the abominable Chief Jus- 
tice again sat in state. 

I lay a groaning mass with all those 
abnormalities eyeing me. 

Six drew swords. 

I forced my pain-shot limbs to rise. 

Turning to me, that awful combina- 
tion of visages and appendages, be- 
decked in pompous paraphernalia, ex- 
claimed : “I know why thou hast re- 
fused to choose a champion, and go 
to tell my father that he may deal with 
thee as befits his wisdom.” 

He then remarked, with malicious 
intonation: “Princely dignities, he is 

46 


BROTHER LUKE 


yours until I return. Entertain him 
royally. He! he! he!” 

A wiry body, supporting a ponder- 
ous head that lolled from side to side, 
came forward. 

“Follow me!” ejaculated sneering 
lips. 

“Hurrah for Scoffer!” shouted the 
assembly. 

Hands so thin they chilled clasped 
my arms. Restrained by unquiet sub- 
mission, I followed through a long, 
dark passage to a dimly-lighted aper- 
ture. 

He made a sweeping gesture, say- 
ing: “Puppet of a puny intellect, be- 
hold my brainy followers.” 

O God, that heart-rending sight! 

Bowed with the weight of jutting 
foreheads, almost touching the floor, 
many were gazing at groveling crea- 
tures already weighed down. Others 
whose craniums had expanded pro- 
portionately, were huddled in reeling 

4 7 


BROTHER LUKE 


groups vainly trying to gain equilib- 
rium. But the most pitiful were those 
whose foreheads had just begun to 
jut, whose craniums had just began 
to expand; wild with despair, they 
begged me to save them from their 
awful doom. 

I stood aghast. 

“Their throes are ever violent,” ex- 
plained the cruel fiend. 

I started to flee, but was checked 
by a look. 

He continued in a lowered tone: 
“Many of these noble people pitted 
the wee bit of mind allotted to man 
against the Almighty, and actually 
sought to disprove His existence.” In 
a faint whisper : “When all reach ma- 
turity, through intellectual prowess, 
we are going to subjugate Hell, rend 
the walls of space, shatter Heaven, 
and create new worlds out of the dis- 
organized atoms.” 

48 


BROTHER LUKE 


) 


To my astonishment, he added: 
‘Fool, you will not remember enough 
to tell,” and led me back to the court- 
room. 

A serious group clamored for me as 
though I were a precious jewel. At 
last they agreed to give me to the one 
who could throw a spear the farthest. 
(I cannot refrain from inserting that 
a cunning smile lit the grim counte- 
nance of my late companion, and I 
thought I heard him murmur : “ ’Twill 
not always be so.”) 

Fortune decreed that the honor of 
next escorting me to his domain 
should fall to a greatly magnified 
counterpart of Hands — I am tempted 
to call him — who deserted me so 
abruptly at the first indication of the 
fiery deluge. 

A few steps brought us to a mar- 
velous cylinder of some unknown met- 
al, which we entered. A few revolu- 
tions, and I was viewing an immense 


49 


BROTHER LUKE 


throng of dissimilarity. Only one 
bond seemed to unite that vast con- 
course of radically different types — 
all possessed enormous palms and ab- 
normal, claw-like fingers. Kings and 
councilmen, rulers of empires ana 
their retinue, presidents and members 
of the cabinet, judges, senators, poli- 
ticians, merchants and employees, pro- 
fessional men, laborers, saloonists, dis- • 
tinguished brigands, lowly "crooks/” 
and every class of woman from the de- 
spised harlot to the haughty society 
devotee, were participating in a brawl- 
ing rabble, each jeering or spurning 
the other. 

I felt that I was laboring under an 
optical illusion, and asked an explana- 
tion. 

Sighing heavily, he answered : "I am 
the pampered son of my father’s king- 
dom; he dotes on me because I bring 
more into his fold than any of the 
others; but mine is not a happy lot. 


50 


BROTHER LUKE 


I bid — bid high enough — the mighty 
fall. I fire men with the burning lust 
for pillage; vast armies rise. I tickle 
their brains with shrewd thoughts ; 
markets are cornered and trusts born. 
I purchase women with mere baubles, 
and shabby excuses for men with 
things equally frivolous. What have 
I won ? A crowd of gibbering idiots, 
who make my existence miserable by 
a continual babble of queer ideas, ad- 
vanced by conventional criterions, that 
assign social positions more in accord- 
ance with the ability to satisfy the 
gluttenous appetite for gold, which I 
myself create, than aught else, it 
seems to me. For a long time I tried 
to reason with them. Day after day 
I propounded the infallible truth that 
‘caste’ of which they prated, was 
man’s arbitrary arrangement, and rot- 
ten to the core. I asked them a thou- 
sand times over, ‘What is the differ- 
ence in the cultured beauty who weds 


51 


BROTHER LUKE 


a suitor for his coin, and the greedy 
prostitute who welcomes him with 
wanton smiles?’ I argued that the 
senator who lugged a bill into the 
statutes of the country he had sworn 
to protect, and received fifty thousand 
from a favored corporation, was not 
on a par with the fellow who stole 
fifty cents from him the following 
night. I was discussing this with that 
arrogant peacock yonder, strutting 
round with such an injured air, and 
explaining that he had bartered him- 
self and impaired the prosperity of a 
nation, while the robber had smeared 
only his own soul, and entailed no dis- 
astrous results for others, when I de- 
cided upon my subsequent course of 
procedure. He exasperated me so that 
I vowed I would build a pen and con- 
fine them forever. In my wrath I ex- 
claimed: ‘Each of your hands shall 
increase three-fold, and thereafter de- 
velop according to the service you ren- 


52 


BROTHER LUKE 


dered me V I often laugh at the justice 
of my hasty curse. Many who re- 
sented most impotently my Father’s 
decree that all who barter themselves 
for gold shall be awarded membership 
in the fraternity known as the Glit- 
tering Lights of Pandemonium, and 
enjoy equally the privileges of said or- 
der, now trail elongated fingers and 
are objects of loathsome contempt to 
not a few whom they refused to coun- 
tenance. Such is the nature of the 
quarrel you witness — servant taunting 
mistress, mistress scorning servant — 
such fit will ever be.” 

He hastily concluded: “Look! Our 
abominable ex-senator is drifting this 
way. That colossal egotist is such a 
true exponent of American folly I 
cannot endure him longer. Let’s be 
going.” 

I left, thinking of the poor wretch 
still at large, but dared not tell. 


53 


BROTHER LUKE 


The opening through which we had 
taken egress was barred when we 
returned. My escort demanded the 
reason angrily, and received the an- 
swer: “Be patient; the parade is not 
ready. ,, 

I inquired what was meant by “the 
parade,” and was advised to bridle 
my curiosity. 

Soon, too soon, we were admitted to 
the saddest spectacle I viewed in all 
Hell. Sharp screams, strangled cries, 
low moans — a woman sheeted in flame, 
entered. Thousands followed in her 
train. They were shrinking and pale. 
Their tear-stained features were il- 
lumined by fiery coils upon their 
brows. Their hearts were pierced, 
each, by a dagger, which they were 
vainly trying to extricate. Their suf- 
fering was intolerable. 

A strong, majestic demon, of com- 
manding physique, so human-like he 
might have been mistaken for men I 

54 


BROTHER LUKE 


had known, so despicable I burned 
with the desire to slay him, smiled 
sardonically and said to me: “The 
harvest is mine. I fain would show 
you the wily males who reaped those 
fair passion-flowers, but they are so 
treacherous we cast them into the 
Burning Caldron just as they arrive.” 

Ere he had ceased speaking, a cor- 
pulent monster, clothed in pendant, 
flapping tongues, interjected : “Broth- 
er, thou forgetest my assistance !” 

“To be sure! Dear Liar, I most 
humbly beg thy pardon, and freely 
acknowledge that thy honeyed words 
helped me woo many from the path of 
virtue. Come; let’s be merry!” 

They locked arms and capered in 
diabolic glee. 

The revel was interrupted by loud 
talking and heavy steps. A horned 
beast, more terrible than the horrors 
of Hell had suggested that Satan 
could be, entered. 

55 


BROTHER LUKE 


The Sire of All Evil addressed me : 
“My beloved son, Sin, has informed 
me of thy predicament. How came 
thee thus?” 

I could force no words from my 
trembling lips. 

Consternation was written on the 
countenances of all those infernal 
monsters. 

The Devil seemed perplexed. He 
eyed me closely, shook me vigorously, 
then roared : “It never happened be- 
fore; thou hast served them both the 
same !” 

After a moment’s silence he called : 
“Stumbling Block, Neglected Oppor- 
tunities, I would speak with thee.” 

The two of whom I had perceived 
exact counterparts in my bosom fol- 
lowed him aside. The conversation 
waxed warm. They grew angry. Their 
voices became shrill shrieks. Blows 
were exchanged. Others rushed to 
the scene. A frantic fray ensued. The 

56 


BROTHER LUKE 


Devil smote them right and left. Bril- 
liant flames spurted from his distend- 
ed mouth. The atmosphere became as 
a red coal. Suddenly he rushed at 
me, belching volumes of lurid pur- 
plish stuff. By some unique maneu- 
ver of the mad fire-like element I was 
enveloped in a surging cloak that bore 
me to the dizzy pinnacle of hellish 
space; and there, bellowing in wrath, 
half the queer phenomena coiled into 
a flying bolt that slit the adamantine 
wall and the other half flung me into 
Stygian darkness. 

Involuntarily I caught my breath, 
awaiting a battering crash, which 
would leave me a crushed, formless 
thing; but I suddenly realized that in- 
stead of falling I was floating horizon- 
tally. 

I entered my new situation content 
to remain inert. Absence from poor, 
raving souls filled me with bliss. A 
soft, warm wind fanned my cheeks 


57 


BROTHER LUKE 

with crystal freshness. I sang from 
uncontrollable joy. Although I fan- 
cied myself floating on a limbous 
stream, carrying me to some unknown 
legacy of terror, I could not bring my- 
self to worry. Whatever the goal of 
the fluid substance that moved in gen- 
tle undulations and bore me on its cur- 
rent, I was happy. Dumb longings 
pulsed my bosom, subtle hope pricked 
my dreamy thoughts. I began crav- 
ing mystic possibilities. Resting from 
sorrow and pain, I turned my eyes up- 
ward and whispered : “O God, I thank 
Thee for this moment of peace.” The 
words were scarcely breathed when 
bold hope urged: “Prayer availeth 
much.” I repeated the comforting 
message until it seemed fraught with 
precious meaning for a poor wretch 
like me. Floating in the ebbing, flow- 
ing matter that was drifting I know 
not whither, I prayed with all the ear- 
nestness of wisdom purchased by the 

58 


BROTHER LUKE 


fatal errors of a misspent life and a 
brief sojourn in Satan’s dominion: 

“Almighty God, Ruler of limitless 
space and myriad universes, I beg 
Thee hearken to the plea of a miser- 
able outcast. O Father of all, pity the 
poor sinner from whose eyes fearful 
scales have fallen. Out of Thy bound- 
less mercy, pardon, if Thou canst, the 
deeds I committed while in darkness; 
for, O God, since the winged arrow of 
truth has pierced my consciousness I 
am Thine. If it be possible for me to 
transcend this miserable gulf, take me, 
and I will serve Thee as Thou seest 
fit.” 

When I ceased speaking I became 
aware of a gradually increasing sound 
like the desolate moaning of the 
sea. The current plunged with head- 
long impetuosity. Mountainous waves 
heaved from the foaming surface. 
With swinging jerks I was drawn 
into a rapid gyration that rose into a 


59 


BROTHER LUKE 


circular rift of sky, of a deep, bright 
blue. Through it there sifted the rays 
of a full moon tinted with beautiful 
gleams I had never known them wear. 

Filled with unutterable thanks for 
deliverance from that dark cavity of 
infernal regions, spellbound by the 
general burst of grandeur, I heard a 
voice, intensely sympathetic, deeply 
resonant, call: “Fear not! The God 
of eternal verities, to whom thou hast 
dedicated thyself, would speak to 
thee.” Immediately I beheld two pil- 
lars of light, one perpendicular, the 
other horizontal, changing their posi- 
tions until they came together and 
formed a cross. 

Far upon the distance streamed a 
flood of golden light. Four gigantic 
figures, robed in gleaming white, 
steered a heavenly barge, fringed with 
emeralds, rubies and pearls, to the foot 
of the holy bars. The Lamb of Calvary 

60 


BROTHER LUKE 


alighted — men seized their Living 
Sacrifice and nailed Him to the cross. 

The foul perpetrators of the deed 
and the angels disappeared, leaving 
me alone with the crucified Savior. 

The life-blood ebbed from gaping 
wounds, where sharp spikes cruelly 
pierced tender flesh ; the suspended 
body drooped heavily, and hung by 
bleeding hands ; the crowned head 
slowly sunk upon a laboring breast. 
His breathing grew hard and became 
great gasps, but no cry of pain broke 
the awful stillness of ethereal space. 

The dying eyes of the Son of God 
gazed below; in their depths was in- 
finite yearning. I followed the glance 
and saw, O reader! I saw the great 
drops of blood that oozed from the 
torn flesh of the Lowly Nazarene di- 
vide into innumerable streamlets that 
diverged toward a light-hearted crowd 
of every nationality, laughing, chat- 
ting, love-making, buying, selling, and 

61 


BROTHER LUKE 


feasting their eyes on the splendors 
of the world ; not one looked upward ; 
not one heeded the redeeming blood 
that fell within easy reach. 

The bleeding Christ sighed. His 
sigh seemed to say: “Tell them of 
their spiritual dearth. Tell them that 
I died to fling open to all the gates 
of eternal life.” 

The scene shifted. I viewed a broad 
plain, where representatives of every 
nation were domiciled in their custom- 
ary abodes. Stately mansions and 
thatched roofs reared themselves side 
by side; crude wigwams and the fro- 
zen homes of the Eskimos were sprin- 
kled promiscuously among the magnifi- 
cent triumphs of architecture, yet the 
vast throng was dwelling in perfect 
harmony. I wondered, until I traced 
the course of the precious blood and 
saw each tiny stream join a human 
heart, then join it to another, thus 
binding all by a network of mystic 

63 


BROTHER LUKE 


cords that made them as brother to 
brother. 

I continued looking. Dissensions 
arose ; many began wrangling oyer 
dogmas and creeds ; others strayed in- 
to fair fields of allurement. I grew 
sad — sadder than words can tell. The 
beautiful picture was marred. Oh, 
how I longed to tell those sin-washed 
creatures to keep themselves unspotted 
from the world! How I quailed lest 
they forfeit their birthright! 

A hand was laid gently on my shoul- 
der. A soft voice whispered: “This 
vision of Christ crucified, has been 
given thee that no trace of doubt ob- 
scure thy mission. Three and thirty 
years are allotted to thee, in which 
thou shalt plead with the erring and 
warn them of the wrath to come. Thou 
shalt also admonish Christians to 
abide in brotherly love and stray not, 
lest they, too, inherit an eternity of 
woe.” 


63 


BROTHER LUKE 


A long flight of ebony steps shone 
in the moonlight. Led by strange in- 
tuition, I descended, and scanned a 
gloomy corridor flushed with weird 
light. A spectral form, shrouded in 
the habiliments of the grave, motioned 
me to enter. I obeyed. By signifi- 
cant gestures I was made to under- 
stand that I should prepare for an 
ordeal. Imagine my horror when I 
saw tall, gaunt forms bearing my stif- 
fened corpse toward my disembodied 
soul ! The face had assumed the usu- 
al pinched and sunken outlines. The 
lips were of marble pallor. The chin 
drooped heavily. The eyes were lus- 
terless and half open. The arms fell 
with stony rigidity. 

The whole company of white-ap- 
pareled creatures seemed to feel deep- 
ly the solemnity of the occasion. Half 
the ghost-like figures grasped my spir- 
itual being, half kneaded my breath- 
less body with wasted semblances of 

64 


BROTHER LUKE 


hands. He who bade me enter emp- 
tied the contents of a small vial, which 
vaporized rapidly. My pulseless heart 
began to beat. My rigid muscles be- 
came palpable. My weary soul leaped 
into my quivering carcass. A shock 
like that of electricity pervaded my 
frame. I knew that I lived. 

Lifting me gently, they wended their 
way to the cave where I was so hope- 
lessly entombed, and left me where I 
lay when I beheld the strange visitant 
of Death. 

An epoch of vacuity, which was 
superseded by chaotic confusion, en- 
sued. My brain seemed wrapped in 
slumber and struggling to awaken. I 
am unable to record the duration of 
the physical turmoil in which my 
senses became formidable antagonists 
battling for ascendency, but I recall 
conflicting sensations which chased 
each other in reckless tumult, dim out- 
lines of intolerable objects that trav- 

65 


BROTHER LUKE 


ersed the atmosphere, sweet sounds of 
the swinging of the censers of angels 
that mingled strangely with the hoarse 
confessions of dark crimes. Clear, con- 
cise thought revived suddenly; even 
the most minute details of my experi- 
ence arrayed themselves in exact se- 
quence. 

Tingling with impatience to begin 
my new life, I made a desperate ef- 
fort to move, and failed. I then 
amused myself by wondering how long 
I had been absent and who would res- 
cue me. Several hours must have 
passed before I heard the clank of 
steel and the dull thud of falling 
earth. The welcome noises grew loud- 
er. The glad hum of familiar voices 
fell upon my ears. A flood of light 
pierced the darkness. Anxious faces 
bent over me. Strong arms carried 
me to the open. A curious crowd gath- 
ered around me. A grave physician 
felt my pulse and shook his head du- 

66 


BROTHER LUKE 


biously. I was hurried into the keep- 
ing of white-capped nurses. 

Three weeks later I sat by my win- 
dow a hopeful convalescent, and read 
a sympathetic note from Isabel. I 
recalled the spectral woman of the 
cave, and shuddered with a quiver of 
antipathy; but a flutter of my heart 
convinced me that the aversion was not 
real, so I resolved to tell Isabel all 
and begin “pleading with the erring.” 
I kept the resolve. It was she who 
dubbed me “Brother Luke.” 

Friend, I am weary. 

Good-bye. 


67 








One copy del. to Cat. Div. 

DEC 18 1909 f 



10D5D3StS?l 

% 


